Gin And Tonic - The Incredible Story Of The Eternal Cocktail

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Easy to prepare, a pleasure to drink, gin and tonic remains the timeless cocktail of summer. It is always in fashion - on the beach, at the bar, and whenever we need freshness and good mood.

Everyone knows that it is very popular, but they hardly suspect that this is not only due to its incredible taste. More than a century ago, he was highly valued not for the pleasure he gives us, but for his medical qualities.

The story says that even Winston Churchill said one day about the cocktail: He saved more English lives and souls than all the doctors in the Empire. The reason is that quinine, which is part of the tonic, helps against malaria.

Quinine is found in the bark of the quinine tree, which grows in the Andes. In the 17th century, the Jesuits who accompanied the Spanish conquistadors in Bolivia and Peru noticed that the local Quechua Indian people used it to treat various types of fever. Thus, the precious ingredient quickly traveled the world.

In the middle of the 19th century, the English living in India consumed about 700 tons of quinine per year. To be able to take the medicine, which was especially bitter, they mixed it with water, sugar and gin. And in 1858, a man named Erasmus Bond took the most important step for all drink lovers - he put on the market the sparkling elixir, which he took on his way from the pharmacy to the bar. And the world already had its favorite cocktail.

The gin also has its debt and interesting story until your meeting with tonic. It is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages, its methods of consumption and production techniques have changed many times over its three centuries of existence.

His drinkers often had sad fates, and he himself was one of the symbols of 17th-century British drunkenness. This is one of the reasons why gin has been severely taxed and even banned.

But today it is rehabilitated and the whole world will agree that it is one of the perfect ingredients for more than one cocktail. It can be combined with aromas, with different plants and flavors. But of course the classics remain Gin Tonic.

Recipe for making gin and tonic at home:

Nowadays, the tonic sold in the store is composed of synthetic quinine. But you can rediscover its glorious past and learn to make your own drink based on quinine bark. This way you will get a bitter cocktail with copper highlights. This recipe was inspired by cocktail specialist Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Portland, Oregon.

Products:

4 glasses of water, a glass of fresh lemon grass, ¼ a glass of quinine peel powder (can be found in herbal shops or in specialized sites), orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, ¼ citric acid, a pinch of salt, sugar (according to one glass for each serving of the drink).

Method of preparation:

Mix all ingredients except the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When the mixture boils, cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Strain the liquid. To get rid of quinine powder, you will need to strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a coffee filter.

Reheat the mixture to melt the white sugar in it for each cup of the drink. Your work will be easily preserved for several weeks. To prolong its shelf life, you can add about 30 grams of vodka.

For delicious Gin Tonic combine about 30 grams of the prepared syrup with 60 grams of gin and 90 grams of carbonated water. Garnish with half a slice of lemon.